For Better or Worse
by Darth-Flatus
Summary: How can someone with an authority problem be the red ranger. The first FEMALE red ranger. Can Mikelah deal with the constant fighting, the bickering between her team AND keep her boyfriend safe and clueless? She'll have to, for better or worse.
1. The Chosen Warriors, Part I

They met at the park, five people coming from five different directions. Silently, they assembled in the middle of the grassy play area.

Stan spoke first. "Does anyone know why we're here?" he asked. The group shook their heads. "I had a strange dream, well more like a vision, but-"

"Shut it!" Ally said. "Do you hear that? It's coming from over there," she pointed to a grove of trees that shook in an unfelt breeze. Then five glowing figures strode out from the trees. Two were in armor, one in a plain robe and the last two were stark naked.

"Thank you for coming," said a man in golden armor. "We knew you would be the ones."

"The ones?" asked Ally.

"The ones who could save us and this world," the man answered. "We all are weak and we need to get this done quickly. Do you accept the power we will give you?"

"Yeah," said Liam.

"Yes," said Stan.

"Why not," Ally said.

"I guess so," said Shandy.

Mike sensed the urgency in his voice. "Ok." She said

The five ancient warriors stood in front of the teenagers. The robed one spoke first. "I am Demeter, Shandy. I am the strength of the sword. A'Shandria Freedom Baker, call on me when you need my power." A brightly shining light shone around Shandy's left wrist and around her neck. When the light dissipated, a tooled leather vambrace seamlessly hung on her wrist and a small, colored crystal hung on a thong around her neck.

The silver-armored woman spoke next. "I am Athena, Liam. I am the mind of the sword. Liam Wesley Harahan, call on me when you need my power." A light shone around Liam's wrist and his neck as well. When the light dissipated, a similar crystal and vambrace was there.

One of the naked women was the next to speak. "I am Aphrodite, Stan. I am the heart of the sword. Stanley Michael Gryffen, call on me when you need my power." The bright light shone and the crystal and cuff were there.

The second naked woman spoke. "I am Artemis, Ally. I am the swiftness of the sword. Almendra Maria Mendoza-Garcia, call on me when you need my power." A brightly shining light shone around Ally's left wrist and around her neck. When the light dissipated, a tooled leather vambrace seamlessly hung on her wrist and a small crystal hung on a thong around her neck.

Only Mike was left. "I am Ares, Mike. I am the authority of the sword. Mikeala Kathryn Gryffen, call on me when you need my power." The light shone around Mike's left wrist and around her neck. When the light dissipated, the cuff and crystal emerged.

The armored man continued to speak, only this time to all of the teens. "Your first test will be coming soon. Remember this night-"

"Like we could ever forget," interrupted Liam.

"Remember this night and what has happened. Heed our advice and all might be well." The last words faded and each of the warriors disappeared like smoke.

The teens stood still for a moment, and then congregated around Mike. Each child looked carefully at the crystal he or she had been given. Each crystal had a small animal and plant inside the globular structure. They all were different colors.

Shandy had what looked like a snake and ivy twisted around each other into a never-ending circle. Stan had a pelican at the base of a tree. Liam had an eagle and grapes in his. Ally received a fish and a rose. Mike's crystal had a boar and an olive branch.

"Why did they choose us?" asked Mike. "We're just kids."

"I don't know," replied Shandy.

--

The next day all five met during lunch. They were in the middle of discussing the events of late last night when the remaining student body began running away from the front of the cafeteria area. A creature clothed in thousands of thin black strips of cloth moved steadily towards them.

The group of friends stood still. Half cowered behind those that had jitters so bad that they couldn't move.

"W- who are you?" asked Mike.

"I am Khaos!" snarled the Man in Black. "You smell of the Warriors. I want their power." A rift stood between the opposing parties and began to grow. It sucked out all light from the surrounding area.

Your first test will be coming soon. First test? Was this it? It must be. "Guys!" Liam shouted. "I think this is it! This is the first test the guy last night talked about."

Khaos turned suddenly. "'The guy last night'? You do know them. Give me the tokens!" He commanded.

She knew immediately he was bad news. "Never!" Ally cried. Remnant of last night's conversation floated through her head. Call on me when you need my power. She grabbed the crystal given to her by Artemis instinctively. The crystal broke off the cord when she touched it. She noticed that on the leather cuff was a small circle hidden in the decorative tooling. It was the size of the crystal in her hand. She knew then what she had to do.

She stepped out from behind Stan and stood tall. Ally slammed the crystal into the circle and watched the crystal absorb. The cuff started to glow. "I CALL UPON ARTEMIS!" she cried as she lifted her hand to the sky.


	2. The Chosen Warriors, Part II

"Never

"Never!" Ally cried. Remnant of last night's conversation floated through her head. Call on me when you need my power. She grabbed the crystal given to her by Artemis instinctively. The crystal broke off the cord when she touched it. She noticed that on the leather cuff was a small circle hidden in the decorative tooling. It was the size of the crystal in her hand. She knew then what she had to do.

She stepped out from behind Stan and stood tall. Ally slammed the crystal into the circle and watched the crystal absorb. The cuff started to glow. "I CALL UPON ARTEMIS!" she cried as she lifted her hand to the sky.

She was immersed in water, yet could breathe. Schools of fish swam around her. A large fish, larger than even her, swam towards her. It swallowed her and she was bathed in pinkish light. Her cuff glowed even deeper and rays of almost red light shot out randomly from it. Each ray hit a separate part of her body. Soon she was covered in a glowing pink bodysuit with a white split skirt that hung past her knees. On her chest stood a red stylized bow and arrow. The transformation complete, she stood tall in the face of the enemy.

"I am the chosen of Artemis!" she howled. "I am a follower of the Huntress! I will not stand here and let you torture my friends. I will hunt you down like the animal you are!" She held out her pale pink glove and, after a bright pink flash, a wooden staff lay in it. "You have been warned!"

"Hah!" laughed Khaos. The rift between the opposing parties grew and began to suck up the laminate floor of the cafeteria.

"You can't do this by yourself," shouted Stan. He stood next to her. He yanked the yellow crystal off his necklace and bonded it to the cuff. "I CALL UPON APHRODITE!" he shouted to the heavens.

He was flying, soaring above the sea in his flock. He spotted a fish and dove with the pelican into the yellow water. His cuff burnt orange and the glowing yellow suit appeared. There were obvious similarities to Almendra's but while her split skirt reached past her knees, his only came to mid-thigh. On his chest lay an orange pictograph of two curved daggers.

"I am the chosen of Aphrodite!" he roared. "I follow the lover's path! I will not allow you to hurt my friends!" He held out his pale yellow gloves. They flashed and twin daggers appeared. "This is your second warning!"

"Really, lover-boy?" Khaos quipped. "Why did you wait for a girl to lead you before you transformed." The rift began sucking tables into it.

"He waited because he was originally trying to protect her," said Shandy. She stood up from where she was cowering. "Just as I will protect my friends." She inhaled deeply and reached for her crystal. She grabbed the orb and slammed it into her leather wristband. "I CALL UPON DEMETER!"

She was free; she swung through the vines with ease. Then she grabbed another green hanging rope. It reared and bit her with its long sharp fangs. She let go and fell into a sea of green. Her wristband glowed a forest green and her outfit appeared. The green, long-skirted outfit showed the sigil of a crossed scythe and hoe.

"This is your final warning! Attack and face our wrath!" Her pale green gloves extended and a long wooden pole with a curved metal blade appeared.

"You have no wrath."

The rift suddenly shot towards them and they could barely duck before it washed over them, tugging at uniform and clothing alike. It dispersed in a flare of black smoke against the wall. The chosen warriors of Artemis, Aphrodite and Demeter rushed forward to engage the enemy.

The green ranger reached Khaos and slashed his chest with her naganita. The enemy reeled in a shower of sparks. Stan was next. He took the twin daggers and threw them so hard all that could be seen was a yellow blur. They missed.

_Idiot,_ thought Mike from behind her table. "Are you going to join in?" she asked the only other non-morphed person in the cafeteria.

"I'm not that stupid," said Liam. Khaos suddenly roared in triumph. The pink ranger, in her effort to defeat him, had been slammed into the far wall. In a flash of pink light, she was forcibly demorphed.

"ALLY!" cried the two. They knew now they couldn't stay out of this fight. They followed the actions of their friends.

"I CALL UPON ATHENA!"

"I CALL UPON ARES!"


	3. The Chosen Warriors, Part III

_The pink ranger, in her effort to defeat him, had been slammed into the far wall. In a flash of pink light, she was forcibly demorphed._

"_ALLY!" cried the two. They knew now they couldn't stay out of this fight. They followed the actions of their friends._

"_I CALL UPON ATHENA!"_

"_I CALL UPON ARES!"_

The two newly morphed rangers ran to help Ally.

"Can you hear me?" asked Mike.

"A' course she can't," said Liam. "She's unconscious." Mike glanced at their friend and, surprise, she was knocked out.

"Lets just get her away from here," the red ranger snapped. The red and blue rangers each grabbed a side of her and gently deposited her inside the gal's bathroom. They sped out of there and back to the fight.

Khaos was still fighting the yellow and green rangers and they were getting thoroughly trounced. Liam held out his hands. A rapier appeared into his right hand and a shield shone on his left arm. Mike held out her hands and she gripped a long sword. They joined the fight. Liam actually fought gracefully with his weapons, dodging and blocking Khaos' long spear. Mike, however, was much different. She took a brute force approach with the weapon hacking and stabbing with almost no regard to a prescribed form.

Red light glinted from inside Mike's visor. She thought about her friend lying on the bathroom floor. She saw an opening in his defense and took it. "This is for Ally!" she cried as she dug her sword into his arm.

Khaos laughed. "Well done." Then he vanished leaving the sword in midair. It clanged to the ground a second later. The four companions hurried to the bathroom to check on Almendra. There they powered down.

They sat by their friend and waited. Minutes later, one of the many vice-principals went into the bathroom. On the woman's face was a mix of worry and relief. "I'm so glad I've found you," said Mrs. Miller (vice-principal of things beginning with "W" or something like that). "When that beast attacked the cafeteria the school went on lockdown and you didn't report in."

"Sorry, ma'am," Liam said. "We were all in the back of the café when the guy attacked and this was the first place we thought of to hide."

Mrs. Miller finally noticed the Hispanic girl prostrate on the floor. A bruise was beginning to form around her left eye. _That's gonna be a shiner._ "What happened to Miss Garcia?" she asked.

Liam answered the best he 'knew', "We all went out to look at the battle and she accidentally got hit." Suddenly, Ally stirred.

"That was very stupid of you all. Miss Garcia looks as if she will be all right, so no harm done. Make sure she visits the clinic, though," said Mrs. Miller.

She started to leave then turned around with a slight smile on her face. "Mr. Harahan, Mr. Gryffen; please try to hide in the appropriate bathroom next time."

Everyone started laughing. "Yes Ma'am," Mike said.

* * *

**A/N: and here ends the first "episode" of Chosen.**

**a lot of this is taken from my favorite seasons of power rangers.(more obvious when it comes to the battlizer episode) **

**keep reading. **

**-- Elflord**


	4. Repurcussions

**A/N: Hey y'all and welcome to Episode 2: Repercussions. In response to my Story beta's (I'm looking for a grammar beta, too) holloring, I have changed the title and summary of the story. I have a hard copy of all episodes up to the battlizer. Unfourtunatly, it's hand written.**

**If anyone has a question about "the world's first female red ranger." I'm answering it now. Charlie, in my mind, was NOT a red ranger. A-squad, in my opinion, are about as worthy of the "power ranger" title as the psyco rangers. THey are worth the same, in fact. END RANT**

**On with the fic!**

* * *

Mike stood at the door to Mrs. Miller's office. She knocked.

"Come in Miss Harahan," The administrator said. "Close the door and sit down."

After Mike was seated Mrs. Miller began simply. "I know." she said.

"About what, ma'am," Mike asked.

"You are the red ranger, Mikelah."

_Damn!_ "Why would you say that?"

"Your cousin's cover story, to put it bluntly, sucked. I highly doubt Miss Mendoza'a injuries were sustained as a bystander."

Mike looked down, figering the hole in her red jersey. "When did you find out?" she asked quietly.

"Yesterday after lunch. I finished talking to you and your friends and then I checked the security videotape on a hunch."

_Videotape?_ Mike asked silently. _Double damn!_

"Don't worry, no one else knows. I deleted the video right after i saw it. As far as the rest of the administration is concerned, the creature messed with the camera footage in the cafe."

"We transformed by the bathroom. The camera can't see there."

"Almendra demorphed in full view of the cameras. From that, I was able to put two and two together. The red ranger has your exact shape and no one else like that was in the cafe at that time."

"You can't stop us," Mike said. "We have a job to do."

"I know," Mrs. Miller said. "I just want to help."

"You can't. It's our responsibility." Mike said. "Even then, I'd have to talk to my teammates, Mrs. Miller." She sighed. "I'm not sure how they would take it."

"I understand." Mrs. Miller fished around in her desk and found a stack of post-it notes. She scribbled a bunch of numbers on the top one. "Let me know when you have come to a decision."

"Yes, Ma'am." Mike said.

--

Lunch again. Exactly twenty-four hours since the first battle. The team was not taking Mrs. Miller's anouncement well.

"How could the bitch find out?" asked Stan. Mike discreetly pointed to the black hemishperes on the ceiling.

"Damn," Liam muttered. "Completely forgot about them."

"Should we talk to Mrs. Miller?" Mike asked.

"She said we could trust her. But I'm not sure if the dudes upstairs would want her to know." The bustling hubbub of the cafeteria ground to a halt. Someone had just pressed pause for the entire cafeteria.

Shandy began, "Ok, thats-"

"-Freaky," the rest finished.

A black man walked through the door of the cafe. Even in a plain brown suit instead of his gleaming armor, Ares was clearly reconisable.

"Do you need our help with anything?" Liam asked.

"No young ones." The god said. "I am simply offering advice and a warning. Don't ever call me dude, I have a reputation to maintain. The advice: trust Terry Miller, she can be more of a help than you think."

"Yes, sir," Mike said.

"Good."

--

Khaos reclined in his lair watching a movie. Yes, the soon-to-be evil overlord had to stick to a budget (he couldn't manufacture armies of creatures, hire every alien mecenary in the galaxy or even pay the electric bill if he used too much power) but he enjoyed the fact that his tight budget allowed for a small trickle of money to rent every single Batman movie ever made. The buget was big enough for his purposes and his underling's power made hiring goons a moot point.

He lay on the couch nursing the wound that damned red ranger gave him. The white bandages starkly contrasted against the blue-black sheen of metal on his shoulder. He had been laying on the couch for eighteen hours straight. His hand shot out to the remote and paused the film. A man with a ragged burlap mask stood smack-dab in the middle of the frame.

"UNDERLING!" he called. A diminuitave, snakelike man rushed in.

"Yesss, Massster?" Underling hissed. Khaos pointed at the screen. "Right away, Massster."

Underling began to chant and hiss in a strange guttural tounge. Slowly, a tall, weedy man materialized.

"Welcome Dr. Crane." Khaos said.

"And you are?" the psychiatrist asked.

"My name is Khaos. I have a job for you to do suited to your 'special' talents."

"Really."

"There is a group of meddlers who will be interfering in my plans. I need you to take them out. To help, I have a power boost for you." Khaos held out a black, glowing capsule. "A gift from my mentor, Hades."

Crane grabbed the pill greedily and swallowed it. His body began to convulse and twist in pain. Metal scales popped out of his body, covering it entirely. His head swelled to three times it's normal size and became completly spherical. A ragged hole, roughly where the mouth should be, burst onto the front of the sphere. The burlap bag held loosly in his left hand dissapeared. A flowing brown cape erupted from his shoulders. Flexible tubes on his wrists connected to a newly-grown pack on his back. The transformation was now complete.

"Attack the mall. That should drive those pesky rangers out."

"Yes, my master." Crane-- no, he was Scarecrow now-- said. In this new form Scarecrow's voice reverberated like he was in the center of a giant warehouse. Khaos snapped his fingers and Scarecrow dissapeared.

--

The team had agreed to meet Mrs. Miller in a neutral place: the second floor food court at the mall.

"Then I took my daggers and threw them at Khaos," Stan was saying.

"And you missed, Loverboy," Ally said.

"Loverboy?" Mrs. Miller asked. "Does that have to do with your patron?"

"Naw. Got it years ago." Stan said vaugely. "Anyway, I have somewhere I need to go. I'll be right back." He got up and bounded down the stairs

"Liam bet he couldn't hook up with ten girls in a single week. He only got nine and Li got ten bucks." Shandy said. "Now we just use it when Stan gets a big head. "

"THAT'S IT!" Liam cried.

"Stan has a big head?" Shandy asked.

"No. Stan, AKA Loverboy, was chosen by Aphrodite." Liam said.

"We already established that." said Mike

"Mike, trust me on this. How many fights have you been in?"

Mike sighed. "Three. And a few shouting matches." She stopped.

"What?" Ally asked.

Mike pointed over Mrs. Millers shoulder. Stan was hitting on a few twenty-somethings. Unfortunatly they had their boyfriends with them. The two men had Stan up against a wall.

"I'll go rescue him." Ally said. She chucked her purse on the table. "Watch my stuff." She raced down the nearby stairs to the first floor.

"It's appropriate." Mrs. Miller said.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Stan was chosen by Aphrodite, godess of love. When Stan can't control himself he is rescued by the chosen of Artemis."

"Why is that appropriate?"

"Artemis is not only the godess of the hunt but she is also the protecter of women-"

"And with Stan around, they need all the protection they can get." Liam finished.

"Yeah."

**BLAM!**

There was an explosion from the other side of the atrium. "Wha- GET DOWN!" Liam yelled. People began running away from the haze of smoke. A faint outline appeared. It raised it's hand.

"Plebes!" it commanded. "Attack!"

The rangers had been monitoring the situation from the second floor. However, at "attack" they knew they had to go into action.

"Stay here, Mrs. Miller." Liam called as he, Shandy, and Mike raced down the stairs. At the base, they met up with Ally and Stan, who had been about to run up the stairs. As a group, the five rangers raced to the source of the commotion. Dozens of robots were attacking mall-goers. In the center of the attacking group, a monster stood. The five ranger lined up and faced him.

"Hey y'all! Ya ready?" Mike shouted in the chaos.

"Ready!" her team responded.

"Then lets do this! I call on Ares!" Mike called.

"I call on Aphrodite!" Stan shouted.

"I call on Athena!" Liam cried.

"I call on Demeter!" Shandy called.

"I call on Artemis!" Almendra cried.

In a flash, the red, yellow, blue, green, and pink rangers appeared. Then, they attacked.

The red ranger held her broadsword steady as she sliced and hacked away at the Plebes. with every stroke, at least one fell to Mike's blade.

The green ranger held four separate Plebes at bay. Shandy swung her naganita in crescents, keeping the robots far enough away so that their spiked clubs couldn't hurt her.

The yellow ranger stood in a mass of swarming bodies. They were, however, not plebes. They were innocent citizens. Stan had originally planned to fight but, seeing the mass of terrified people, decided to get them to safety instead.

The pink ranger was helping him. Almendra stood guard, both helping the stragglers away and preventing any Plebes from getting close enough to attack.

The blue ranger analyzed the situation. Liam saw that the plebes were being directed by the monster. So, he fought towards him. He was close enough. He attacked.

Just when the blow was about to land, the monster turned and wrenched the sword away. With one hand, the monster lifted Liam up into the sky. He began squeezing Liam's helmet. Just when Liam thought the helmet was going to give, a yellow dagger slammed into the monster's shoulder. The monster dropped Liam and the blue ranger scrambled away.

"HA!" Stan cried. "Got 'em that time!" The rest of the team was assembled behind the monster. Liam ran and joined them.

Mrs. Miller stood on the food court balcony. "Rangers!" she called to them. "Put your weapons together! You should be able to destroy the monster."

"Right!"

The red sword was laid on the ground. Two yellow daggers were stabbed into openings on the sword tip. The green naganita and pink staff attached to the crossguard and bent to hook under the daggers. The blade of the naganita turned at ninty degrees to attach to the staff. The blue shield was laid on the blade/crosspiece. It was complete.

"Titan's Catapult!" the team named their new weapon. The shield started to glow. "Gorgon's Head!" Mike commanded. "FIRE!"

The pink and green rangers each turned a dagger, releasing the catapult arm. The glowing blue shield was flung towards the monster. The shield connected with the monster and it was turned to stone. A spiderweb of cracks spread across the statue culminating with it's dissolution into dust.

--

In his lair, Khaos reeled. "NO!" he yelled. "Underling!"

The short guy came running in. "Yesss, Massster?" he hissed.

"Give Scarecrow another power boost." Khaos commanded.

"Massster, if I give him another boossst, it will be the lassst he can handle."

"Just do it! I want those rangers gone!"

"Yesss, Massster," Underling said meekly.

--

The rangers were celebrating. They had formed a new weapon, they had destroyed their enemy, and they had won their battle. Life couldn't be better.

Their was a loud crack and a small creature appeared. He scampered to the pile of dust that had been Scarecrow and waved his hands over it. Scarecrow reformed. and then grew. And grew. And grew. He grew so tall that he shattered the mall's glass roof. The rangers rushed outside.

"How can we fight that?" Stan asked.

"Use your tokens, rangers!" Mrs. Miller told them. Despite the danger, she had followed the rangers.

Mike plucked the glass orb out of her gold collar. "Use this?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Right." She stared at the boar in her red crystal. She threw it into the air. It glinted in the sunlight. "Beast of Ares!" she called. Mike caught the crystal between her index and middle knuckles. "I call the Boar!" The ground shook as a russet boar thundered down the avenue.

Liam was the next to pick up on it. He plucked the blue sphere out of his collar and threw it up. "Beast of Athena!" he commanded, "I call the Eagle!" There was a peircing shriek as a brilliant blue eagle dove down from the sky to land on a nearby building.

Stan was up next. He wrenched his yellow crystal out from his collar. "Beast of Aphrodite!" he called, "I call the Pelican!" He looked around for a second, nothing happened. Then, slowly, a yellow pelican came waddling towards them from the nearby lake.

It was Shandy's turn. She almost juggled her crystal as she plucked it out with her left hand, tossed the green orb to her right, tossed it up to catch it with her left. "Beast of Demeter!" she called, "I call the Asp!" The fore-mentioned snake slithered up from the bowels of the subway system to stop behind the rangers. It reared and hissed at the monster.

There was only one ranger left. Almendra stood and readied herself for her zord's first appearance. "Beast of Artemis!" she commanded, "I call the Arrowfish!" The zord jumped out of the lake and swam through the air to stop by the rangers. The pink zord was much smaller than the others but it was as raring to go as the others.

Mike raised her sword. "Attack!" she ordered.

BlueEaglezord launched herself off the building and dove towards the monster, talons ready to rake across his exposed features. The monster batted her away like an annoying mosquito. RedBoarzord charged down the monster. Just when his tusks were about to gore into the monster's belly, the monster stuck a hand out and vaulted over RedBoar. He couldn't stop in time and smashed into a nearby office building. GreenAspzord and YellowPelicanzord didn't have much luck attacking either. PinkArrowfishzord didn't even attack. She wasn't entirely without an AI.

"This isn't working!" Liam told Mike. "But... we combined our weapons to defeat him the first time. Do you think it's possible to combine our zords?"

"We might as well try." She said. "Hey y'all!"she called to the other rangers. "We're gonna try combining our zords."

"A Chimera..." Shandy whispered.

"It isn't technically one, with the zords we have, but it'll do. It'll be a giant Chimera. A Chimera Maximus." Stan said. At 'Chimera Maximus' the tokens, still held in the rangers' hands flashed white. The five rangers looked at each other, then nodded.

Each ranger held their token in the flat of their hand. They brought them together, the tokens forming the points of a perfect pentagram. In unison they cried, "Chimera Maximus, COMBINE!"

RedBoarzord ran on the stony cliff above the forest. The two birds, BlueEaglezord and YellowPelicanzord were flying above him. They dove down and were absorbed into the body of RedBoarzord. Only their heads, one sprouting from each shoulder of RedBoarzord, were left visible. Then, yellow and blue wings sprouted from the back of the forming megazord. GreenAspzord dove and attached to the megazord's tail. PinkArrowfishzord floated in front of the rangers. It didn't join the megazord.

Chimera Maximus stood in the park. It gave a loud snort/caw/shriek/hiss, daring the monster to attack. Scarecrow obliged. Chimera Maximus charged towards him. When the monster tried to vault over the back of it, like he had in the past, he was faced with powerful wings beating the sides of his head and a very angry tail trying to bite him.

"We need to take the fight to the next level." Mike declared. She eyed the zord in front of her.

"Right." The rangers jumped onto PinkArrowfishzord. Each grabbed a spine on her back. Mike, commanding Spine 1, directed the small zord to go behind Chimera Maximus. "Chimera Maximus, Warrior Mode!" She called. The megazord stood on it's back legs. The forelegs of Chimera Maximus rotated and the feet split to form hands. PinkArrowfishzord dove throught he metal to land in a cavern on the chest. GreenAspzord released herself from her former resting place. Chimera Warrior grabbed the head of the green zord. The faint hood scrunched up to form the crossguard. Chimera Warrior was armed and ready.

The interior cavern was arrayed like an ancient temple. In the center, PinkArrowfishzord had transformed into five pedestals. Mike jumped onto the one in the center. "Are y'all gonna fight or what?" The rangers jumped on them. Li and Ally were on the right. Stan and Shandy took the left.

Scarecrow attacked. On instinct, Mike ducked to dodge the blow. The zord ducked as well. "Whoa..." Ally murmured. She tried kicking and punching. Despite Ally moving all of her limbs, only the right arm of the megazord moved. Shandy saw what the pink ranger was doing and tried it as well. She controlled the left arm. Each ranger controlled a specific part of the zord.

Once she realized what happened, she turned the stratigizing over to Liam. "Ok, we're gonna run and punch Scarecrow. After that, we're gonna slice the hell out of him with the ZordSword. Everyone got that?" The rangers all nodded their heads. "It has to be in unison to work, I think."

The rangers tried it. It worked, mostly. They still didn't have the 'in unison' bit down. They continued to slice and hack at Scarecrow.

"Hey, Stan," Liam called to the yellow ranger. "D'ya know what the Chimera's famous for?" Liam asked.

"What?" Stan asked.

"Fire." Li replied. "I say we try and get some fire by friction."

"Right!" Mike reached down to the pedastal and retrieved a model of the ZordSword. "Grab on!" she commanded the others. Shandy and Almendra grabbed her shoulders and Li and Stan grabbed their shoulders. Mike began swinging the sword intricatly until it was only a blur. The blur changed from green to red and then to white. "Fire Tounge!" she called. A burst of white hot plasmic fire shot from the sword and engulfed Scarecrow. The monster screamed and was dust in the wind.

"Yes!" the rangers cried. The Chimera Warrior dissolved back into the origional zords. The rangers gathered on the battlefield and were welcomed by cheers from the local populace.

In the back of the swarming crowd a blond woman stood smiling. She took out her cell phone. She dialed.

"Hey- No, It's Terry." Mrs. Miller said. "Listen; y'know that classified job you had a few years back?" She paused. "Yes, that one. I found some people who might need your advice." Another pause. "Ok. I'll see ya then, sis."

--

The rangers had one last problem they had to deal with today. They met Mrs. Miller before school the next day.

Mike spoke for the team. "We talked and we'll let you help us. We know more aboiut this rangering stuff than you would. You can help us. If we have a ranger problem that that invoves- what was it?- tough adult decisions, we'll let you decide for us." She glared at the vice-principal. "That good enough for ya?"

"That'll do fine, Mike." Mrs. Miller said.

Stan broke in. "Now that that's settled," he said, "Welcome to the team."


	5. Homophobia

"How long have I been out?" Mikelah asked groggily. Her cousin helped her sit up.

"An hour or so. Sorry about that." Liam said. That afternoon the five rangers had decided to train a bit. The session had ended with Liam punching the red ranger in the head, knocking her out.

"Where are the guys?"

"Stan and Almendra went to go get some takeout then head home and Shandy said she had a date."

"You should probably go home too, Li. Aunt Holly would be worried by now." Mike swung her legs out from her bed and tried to stand up. She managed it after grabbing Liam's arm for support. A thought popped into her head. "What did you tell my mom? Y'all carrying me in from the backyard was bound to get her to ask questions."

"You got pissed and I punched you," he said with a smile. "Figured the truth would be good. Auntie K seemed to think it was funny."

_That's great._ "Leave, Liam." She said. "I need to sleep some more."

"See you tomorrow." Liam gave one last grin and left.

It felt like her head had just hit the pillow; in fact it had, when her cell phone rang. She knocked around stuff on her nightstand before grabbing her cell. It was Liam. _Probably wants to check on me._

"Li, make it quick," She answered, not fully awake.

"I JUST CAUGHT YOUR GREEN RANGER KISSING MY SISTER!" he yelled into the phone.

"Wha?" Mike was awake now. "Hang on a bit, I'll be right over." She hung up and scrambled to get ready. She ran through the living room. "Hi Ma, bye Ma." She called over her shoulder.

"Where are you going, young lady?" her mother asked.

"Li needs help with his AP English project." Mike quickly lied. Her mother kept staring at her.

"I'm fine Ma," Mike said exasperated. "It's just down the street."

"Dinner's at seven." Mike rushed out the front door. Mrs. Harahan shook her head and went back to her evening news program.

Mike ran the half-mile to her cousin's house. Liam was waiting for her at the door. She went inside. Shandy and Liam's sister Colleen were sitting next to each other on the couch. Mike sat in an armchair next to them. Liam stayed standing. His eyes never left Shandy for a second.

"Could y'all explain what happened?" Mike asked.

Liam immediately started talking. "I came home after dealing with you and I saw Shandy sticking her tongue down my sister's throat! I yelled at them, then I called you."

Mike looked at Shandy and Colleen. Shandy spoke for them. "He's right. I didn't think Li'd be home so soon. My Mistake."

When Mike made no move to censure Shandy, Liam lost it. "WHY WON'T YOU DO ANYTHING?"

"Liam," Mike said quietly. Her voice was soft, yet sharper than a razor blade. "If you'd be quiet for a few minutes I'd be able to hear myself think."

Liam heard the anger in the red ranger's voice and wisely shut up. He was still seething.

"Thanks, Birdboy. I'm not doing anything," Mike said. "I can't force them to change. Derek-"

"Would you shut up about your perfect boyfriend?!" Liam shouted. "I can't believe you'd still take her side-"

"I ain't taking her side! If you'd just listen we'd work this out!" Mike was thoroughly pissed.

"I'm not working anything out with the bitch." Liam motioned to Shandy. "I'm not working with her either." He ripped the blue stone off his neck and threw it at Mike's head. "I quit." He stormed out of the den, leaving the three girls to pick up the pieces.

Colleen spoke first. "What did he quit?"

The two rangers froze. "Uh…" Mike paused. "He quit…uh…science team! He quit the competitive science team at school. He and Shandy were going into an event together."

"Yeah," Shandy added.

"What was that blue thing?" Colleen asked.

Mike continued with her lie. "It's a necklace Coach gave us when we joined the team." Mike stared at Colleen, daring her to ask any more questions. She wisely didn't.

The back door slammed shut. "I'll go after him," Mike said.

When Mike walked into the back yard, she found Liam sitting on a bench near the flowers. She sat next to him. "Talk," she ordered.

Liam didn't say anything. Mike stayed there next to him. Night fell. "Look, I know you like her."

THAT got Liam's attention. "What!" he spluttered. "I- I don't like Shandy. Why would you even say that? I can't believe you said that. You don't have proof. You can't accuse someone without proof."

Mike just stared at Liam. His rant wound down and he was silent. "I just said that to get you talking. I had no idea."

"Oh." He said.

"Now talk, Li." Mike said, looking at the blue ranger next to her.

"Stop doing that!" Li told her. Mike looked at him quizzically "Stop with the I'm-the-leader-so-do-what-I-say-stare."

"I don't do that." Mike defended. She suddenly realized she was staring at him. She lessened the gaze and warmed her expression up. She suddenly started laughing.

"What is it now?" Liam asked.

"You and your sister getting into a catfight over Shandy. That would be hilarious."

Liam looked at his cousin in annoyance, then he, too, started laughing. "Stop…trying to… distract… me. I'm… not going… back." The laughing faded away.

Mike looked at him. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Mike held Liam's blue token in her hand. "I'll keep it for you."

The next morning at school was almost unbearable. Liam wasn't talking to Shandy. He would purposely avoid her in the halls and in class. Shandy would only talk to Colleen and Mike was being forced to be the middle-woman between the two factions.

After lunch, Mike knocked on the door to Mrs. Miller's office. "Come in," the occupant answered.

Mike came in and sat down. "Mrs. M? You know that club I'm in that you found out about," Mike was staring at her the entire time she was talking. _Please not be entirely stupid._ When Mrs. Miller looked completely clueless Mike discreetly pointed at he morpher. Mrs. Miller nodded and stood up. She went over and locked the door and pulled the shades down.

"What do you need my help with?" the administrator asked.

"I need your advice." Mrs. Miller nodded for her to go on. "Li quit. He got pissed at Shandy for kissing his sister, and then quit the team. I don't know what to do. He should take responsibility for his actions, Athena did choose him so he needs to fight, but I don't want to force him to fight. He gave me his token, but not his morpher so maybe he hadn't fully decided to stop fighting. Should I force him to keep fighting or let him be? I have no clue."

Mrs. Miller was pensive for a moment. "As much as I would love to help you with your problem, you'll have to work it out on your own." Her radio squawked. Down in the main hall two kids were roughhousing. "I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

Mike was left sitting in Mrs. Miller's office.

During sixth period, Mike's phone beeped. She had a text. She flipped her phone open underneath the desk. When the teacher wasn't looking, she glanced at it. Surprisingly, it was from Mrs. Miller. 'Attack dwntn will send pass.' Mike waited. Not two minutes later, a student aide came into her math class with a pass. Mike gathered up her stuff and rushed to Mrs. Miller's office.

The rest of the team was there. They dumped their stuff inside the office and began to head out the door. "Rangers," Mrs. Miller called. "You'll be skipping seventh period. Congratulations, I'll see you in detention." Stan grumbled and the team rushed out of school.

The team had reached the downtown area in Shandy's old Chevy truck when Almendra realized that the group hadn't received any information on where the monster was actually attacking. The four piled out of the pickup. In the distance, they heard the screams of innocent civilians.

"I'm guessing, we head there," Stan quipped. "We should probably transform now."

Mike nodded in agreement. She plucked the red charm from around her neck. "I call upon Ares!"

Almendra went second. "I call upon Artemis!" she cried.

There was a pause. It was Liam's turn. He didn't call. He wasn't there. The entire team felt his loss acutely.

Shandy took up the slack. "I call upon Demeter!"

Stan stepped up. "I call upon Aphrodite!"

The multi-colored flash lit up the empty street. The transformed rangers rushed off to the scene of the chaos.

Smoke and fog covered the area. Small fires burned in the midst of rubble. Two plebes stood guard in the center of the square. The four rangers marched across the battlefield. A single reporter was standing in the far end of the square, reporting on the terror.

The red ranger held her hand up. The team stopped. Red headed to the reporter. "Ma'am, Sir, you might want to get out of the way." She said. "It's about to get real messy."

"Bah there's onnie two," the camerawoman protested in a heavy southern accent.

"It's called an ambush. Film if you want. Just be careful. If something comes at you, give a shout, then run." She turned on her heel and headed back to her team. The reporter and camera- excuse me- photojournalist hid behind a large pile of rubble.

The four rangers attacked the two bait plebes. As soon as the second one fell, almost a hundred more came and attacked. The rangers fought and fought and fought. But for every plebe the defeated, more seemed to spring up and attack.

Brenda Johnson and Zeke Williams peeked out from their hiding place. The red ranger had just walked up to them and told them to move out of the way. How rude. They watched the fight.

The yellow ranger was hit directly in the chest. Sparks flew; he spun around and fell to the ground. The reporter and his partner cringed in sympathetic pain. The pink ranger turned and screamed, "NOOO!" She was shot in the back and went down as well.

Brenda immediately started fumbling with her camera, getting the state-of-the-art equipment up and running. Zeke ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his shirt, making himself presentable for television.

Brenda angled the camera so that the fight in the distance was visible behind Zeke. The camera began to roll.

"This is Ezekiel Williams reporting from Downtown. The battle is on! Our Power rangers, harnessing an as-yet unknown power, are currently fighting for their survival in-" There was a loud explosion and a monster began striding purposefully towards the rangers. "And we at KABB-TV are the first to report to appearance of this week's monster."

Zeke turned around to view the battle. The rangers had regrouped and were slowly retreating from the battle site. The monster, a spotted white buffalo with six legs and a beaver tail, stalked towards them while precariously balanced on its hind legs. The rangers ducked behind some rubble to hide from Buffalo Boy. They had not emerged for several minutes when there was a noise from behind them.

It was the red ranger.

"I need you to get a message out for me." She said.

"Uh…sure," Zeke agreed. "Bren, could you film her? You are a her, right?" he asked the red ranger.

"Yeah." The red ranger said.

Brenda set up the camera and started rolling.

Introduction to Information Technology_, my ass._ Liam thought as he surfed the web. _Stupid class. __I already know this crap._ Feeling immensely bored, he checked a local news site.

He read the first headline. 'Blue Ranger quits? Red Ranger speaks out' Startled, he clicked on it. It wasn't an article, but a video. He slid the headphones from the computer onto his ears and pressed play. To his surprise, his cousin, the red ranger, started talking.

"_L-Birdboy, it's me. We need you. At first your little spat with your sister was understandable but now the situation's serious. For being Athena's chosen you're being an idiot. You can't change the green ranger's decision. You just have to deal with it. We need you to fight with us. We're getting our asses kicked." Mike stared at him, no at his soul. "Yes this is the stare. I have your token for when you finally come to your senses. Help us. We need our blue ranger." Mike looked off camera. "I'm done. Thank you."_ The video ended.

Liam leaned back in his chair. Mike needed him. "'Getting our asses kicked'?" he whispered. Liam checked the post time for the video. It had been posted a whole fifteen minutes ago.

It was all Shandy's fault. If she hadn't started this thing with his sister then this wouldn't have happened. The team wouldn't be in danger. But…she didn't quit. He did. She didn't leave the team. He did. No! Shandy started it! He came in and found his sister with her. He started yelling and… over-reacted. _Damn!_ He had to help. It was Duty.

Minutes had passed. Thirty minutes since the red ranger had asked the two reporters to send out a message. Twenty-five since her plea had been posted. Ten since Liam had realized how much of an idiot he had been.

Brenda and Zeke had moved behind the burned out shell of a car. They were waiting. From far out in the distance Brenda saw a mop of brown hair on top of some kind of blue shirt. She whacked Zeke in the arm. "Z, look." She pointed to where the person had been, but he was gone. "Theres'um guy over dere. He- I think he's wearing blue."

"Do you think it's the blue ranger?" Zeke asked.

"Yeh."

The conversation would have continued but for the fact that across the nearby parking lot there was a sudden blue flash. "'S them," Brenda confirmed with a smile.

The five transformed rangers stalked towards Buffalo Boy. They drew their weapons and readied for their attack.

Buffalo Boy spoke. "This is all of you?" he asked. He spoke slowly, with a deep, yet somehow child-like voice.

"What's it to you?" the blue ranger shouted back.

"I just want to know." Buffalo Boy said.

"Yes." Mike answered. "This is all of us."

"Good." The monster - smiled - and faded into a haze of gray smoke. The plume rose up and vanished into the sky.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

It was night and a blue sedan pulled up to the Baker farm. Two people stepped out. Colleen turned to her brother. "Thanks for everything, Li." She said. "Don't you hurt her," She said poking him in the chest by his token.

Shandy came walking out of the front door. She waved to the both of them. Liam motioned off to the side. Shandy and Liam walked to the side of the house. They had just gone out of sight when Liam turned and slammed Shandy against the siding.

"You hurt her and I will personally make sure that you never see the light of day again. I don't like this but I will endure it. Don't mess up. Understand me?"

Shandy nodded her head quickly.

"Good."

­­­­

In his dark lair, Khaos seethed. How dare his minion bring a cowardly… thing into his lair. _Damn Power Rangers!_ They must have corrupted his monster. But how did they do it?

"Get up here, kid!" called a voice from upstairs.

Khaos grumbled and removed his helmet to reveal a human face.


End file.
